Aluminium silicon alloys containing less than about 12% silicon are referred to as hypoeutectic alloys. In addition to alleviating the formation of defects such as hot tearing and porosity due to the shrinkage and gases, and also to minimising the presence of inclusions, two very significant ways in which the strength, ductility and performance of an aluminium casting alloy can be improved are through grain refinement of the primary aluminium phase and modification of the eutectic Al+Si structure. Upon cooling of molten hypoeutectic alloys, aluminium crystals form first through nucleation and growth, and later the second important event is the formation of the Al+Si eutectic mixture. It is understood that the (Al+Si) eutectic is an irregular and coupled eutectic, and it grows in the form of eutectic colonies, with silicon radiating from a single nucleating point and the tips of the silicon plates grow ahead of the aluminium, leading into the cooling liquid. It has been demonstrated that the (Al+Si) eutectic can nucleate on existing aluminium dendrites or substrate particles in the melt such as AlP, AlSiNa, Al2Si2Sr and other unidentified particles.
Grain refinement of primary aluminium is simply the process of adding nuclei and solutes with a strong constitutional undercooling effect to the melt prior to pouring such that upon the freezing process (i.e. solidification) the casting will expedite a refined microstructure with small equiaxed aluminium crystals. Grain refinement of primary aluminium crystals is accomplished generally by adding master alloys containing titanium and/or boron to the melt.
Eutectic modification on the other hand is the process of changing the morphology of the cast structure and in particular, that portion of the cast structure which freezes as a eutectic mixture of aluminium and silicon towards the end of solidification. Unmodified hypoeutectic aluminium silicon alloys are relatively non ductile or brittle and consist of primary aluminium dendrites with eutectic composed of coarse acicular or plate-like silicon phase in an aluminium matrix. The morphology of these silicon rich crystals in the eutectic mixture can be modified by small additions of elements such as sodium, strontium or antimony to the melt to alter the eutectic structure and to yield silicon rich crystals having fine, fibrous structure. However the addition of modifiers has been found to neutralise the potent nuclei for the eutectic colonies in the melts resulting in a significant increase of the undercooling in eutectic nucleation and depression of the eutectic growth temperature. This in turn increases the eutectic grain size and reduces nucleation frequency in forming modified aluminium silicon alloys. Furthermore, modification of the aluminium silicon alloys has also been reported to cause pore redistribution and an increase in casting porosity.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hypoeutectic aluminium silicon alloy having an improved microstructure with good castability and improved porosity characteristics.